XRP whale withdrawals hit 2019 high as price holds below $1

XRP exchange withdrawals hit their highest level since 2019 as whales moved tokens off exchanges while the token traded below $1.

On-chain data from the XRP Ledger shows whale-driven withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchanges reached their highest transaction count since 2019, according to XRPL analytics. The movement comes as XRP closed at $1.00 on Aug. 12, its lowest daily close since November 2024 and a 69 percent drop from its January 2025 peak near $3.30.

Whale withdrawals from exchanges typically signal accumulation and reduced selling pressure. XRP's funding rates surged 211 percent as open interest rose 7.6 percent to about $883.8 million, Coinglass data shows, indicating growing bullish positioning among derivatives traders. Active addresses on the XRP Ledger increased about 35 percent in August even as the price declined, suggesting more users transacting at lower levels.

The price breakdown followed an Aug. 9 exploit of the Coreum cross-chain bridge connecting to the XRP Ledger, which drained nearly 200,000 XRP in under two hours. The bridge's balance fell from approximately 200,410 XRP to 493.5 XRP as the attacker executed 94 fraudulent transactions, according to blockchain analytics. The XRP Ledger itself remained secure, with no private keys compromised, marking the incident as a third-party infrastructure failure rather than a protocol-level vulnerability.

XRP has shed roughly 72 percent from its all-time high of $3.65 earlier this year. The token bounced twice to $1.18, the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement level, before failing to break through and continuing to make new lows. Analyst Edo Farina warns the next support sits near $0.70 to $0.72, while TradingKey technical analysis points to $0.50 as the next major level if $1.00 fails to hold.

Selling pressure has been compounded by the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, which sold over 70 million XRP in the first half of 2026, cashing out more than $180 million. Institutional interest persists, however: Morgan Stanley disclosed new holdings in three XRP exchange-traded funds in its Q2 2026 SEC filing, and JPMorgan re-entered XRP investments through Bitwise and Grayscale funds. Regulatory headwinds also persist, with Russia approving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT for cross-border use while excluding XRP from the approved list.

The whale withdrawal surge suggests large holders are moving tokens to self-custody rather than selling into weakness. If accumulation continues, XRP could stabilize above $1 and stage a recovery. But if the price breaks lower, a long squeeze could accelerate the decline toward $0.50, with the token's near-term direction tied to broader crypto liquidity and Federal Reserve rate expectations.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.